Hummingbird Cake
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy10
servings30
minutes30
minutesThis cake is AMAZING. There is a funny story, so I am part of the Bon Appetit Baking Club and they sent out a link for a Hummingbird Cake. The link would not open so I went to the website and found a hummingbird cake recipe. When I shared the cake and said where I had found Ground rose petals which is an ingredient in the cake, people commented that that ingredient was not in the recipe they were all doing. So someone sent me the right recipe and I made both cakes and we had a Cake Tasting with my family and a few friends. Everyone loved the cake I made first, much better flavor and more moist, but the pineapple lime jam between the layers from the Club recipe was amazing so I made a third cake and combined the best of both recipes and the outcome was spectacular. ** I will say the cake says it should cook 45 minutes but it was cooked by 40, so check it after 30-35 minutes.
Cake
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground rose petals
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
3 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup coconut oil, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
8 oz crushed pineapple with juice
2 cups mashed very ripe bananas, about 5
1 cup toasted chopped pecan pieces
- Jam
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Frosting
1 1/2 lbs cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
5 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325. Coat 2 9 inch cake pans with baking spray and line with parchment.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, rose petals, and cardamom and mix well. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with vegetable oil, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt-then stir into dry ingredients, mixing until just moistened. Stir in sour cream. Using a lg spatula, fold in crushed pineapple and juice, bananas, and pecans. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 35 minutes, rotating the pans after 20 minutes. Bake until golden brown and a tooth pick comes out almost clean. Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes in pan then invert, peel off the parchment, and place on rack to cool completely.
- Make the jam while cakes cool. The cakes can be made ahead 2 days and kept at room temperature wrapped well in plastic wrap.
- Jam
- Cook the zest of 1 lime with the drained pineapple, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. The mixture will become thick and very little liquid will remain after stirring frequently for, 15-18 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in juice of 1 lime. This can be made up to 4 days ahead, kept in an air tight container and refrigerated.
- Frosting and Assembly
- Set 2 Tablespoons of the pineapple jam aside for the decoration.
- Make the frosting: In a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter until incorporated and smooth. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Stop and scrape down the bowl and sides with a rubber spatula. Beat in orange zest and vanilla.
- Place one layer on a cake platter and frost with some of the frosting. Add the pineapple jam and spread over the layer onto of the frosting. Add the second layer and frost the entire cake. You can use the reserved jam to swirl into the top frosting or place it in the middle and sprinkle with more toasted pecans.
